That's what I will do. I am getting an error. I first try to ensure that I do not have a self-created error. As you doubtless are aware, with the TeX world, unsynched tools can cause issues. If I can upgrade, this fixes problems sometimes. Even re-installing has the same effect if a bad version has crept in somehow.
-----Original Message-----
From: Ignasi [mailto:nignasi@...]
Sent: Wednesday, May 02, 2012 12:44 PM
To: A place for MiKTeX users to discuss MiKTeX related questions.
Subject: Re: [MiKTeX] Update failures
On Wed, 02 May 2012 17:15:31 +0200, Thompson,Paul
<Paul.Thompson@...> wrote:
> OK, that does uninstall the package. But it just re-installs what is
> here, without forcing a re-download of the MikTeX package component.
May be you can
1.- unintall the package from your MikTeX with MPM
2.- manually download the package from CTAN
(systems/win32/miktex/tm/packages) and replace the one
you have on your system (look for cab or tar.lzma files under "program
files/miktex2.9/sources/")
3.- install again the package.
I've never tried something like that.
If the problem is with miktex's packaged version, you could also download
the original one and fill a bug
report on miktex place.
Ignasi
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On Wed, 02 May 2012 17:15:31 +0200, Thompson,Paul
<Paul.Thompson@...> wrote:
> OK, that does uninstall the package. But it just re-installs what is
> here, without forcing a re-download of the MikTeX package component.
May be you can
1.- unintall the package from your MikTeX with MPM
2.- manually download the package from CTAN
(systems/win32/miktex/tm/packages) and replace the one
you have on your system (look for cab or tar.lzma files under "program
files/miktex2.9/sources/")
3.- install again the package.
I've never tried something like that.
If the problem is with miktex's packaged version, you could also download
the original one and fill a bug
report on miktex place.
Ignasi

OK, that does uninstall the package. But it just re-installs what is here, without forcing a re-download of the MikTeX package component. How do I force a re-update from the repository? The update process does not allow unnecessary updates to be performed.
-----Original Message-----
From: Ignasi [mailto:nignasi@...]
Sent: Wednesday, May 02, 2012 9:51 AM
To: A place for MiKTeX users to discuss MiKTeX related questions.
Subject: Re: [MiKTeX] Update failures
On Wed, 02 May 2012 16:11:57 +0200, Thompson,Paul
<Paul.Thompson@...> wrote:
> I am trying to get biblatex, biber, tex4ht, and MikTeX 2.9 to play
> nicely. There is some issue with synchronization of components. So, I
> decided to update packages, hoping that this would fix the issue.
>
>
> 1) Regardless of what I update, I get to the first package, and get
> a Windows API error 87: The parameter is incorrect. At that point, the
> update terminates, and does not finish.
>
> 2) I would like to force MikTeX to re-download biblatex to ensure
> that my version is current and properly installed. How do we force the
> re-install of a package that is not needing an update?
>
You can use package manager to uninstall and reinstall the package.
Ignasi
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On Wed, 02 May 2012 16:11:57 +0200, Thompson,Paul
<Paul.Thompson@...> wrote:
> I am trying to get biblatex, biber, tex4ht, and MikTeX 2.9 to play
> nicely. There is some issue with synchronization of components. So, I
> decided to update packages, hoping that this would fix the issue.
>
>
> 1) Regardless of what I update, I get to the first package, and get
> a Windows API error 87: The parameter is incorrect. At that point, the
> update terminates, and does not finish.
>
> 2) I would like to force MikTeX to re-download biblatex to ensure
> that my version is current and properly installed. How do we force the
> re-install of a package that is not needing an update?
>
You can use package manager to uninstall and reinstall the package.
Ignasi

I am trying to get biblatex, biber, tex4ht, and MikTeX 2.9 to play nicely. There is some issue with synchronization of components. So, I decided to update packages, hoping that this would fix the issue.
1) Regardless of what I update, I get to the first package, and get a Windows API error 87: The parameter is incorrect. At that point, the update terminates, and does not finish.
2) I would like to force MikTeX to re-download biblatex to ensure that my version is current and properly installed. How do we force the re-install of a package that is not needing an update?
Paul A. Thompson
Director, Methodology and Data Analysis Center
Sanford Research/USD
Sanford Health
2301 E 60th St N
Sioux Falls, SD 57104
605-312-6462
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ANNOY-YING, I can imagine.
I have Norton 360, and do not see this behavior. I have other anti-spyware stuff, and they always check with me. Is there a method to select "ask before destroy"?
-----Original Message-----
From: Juris Freimanis [mailto:jurisf@...]
Sent: Tuesday, May 01, 2012 7:53 AM
To: miktex-users@...
Subject: [MiKTeX] MiKTeX update destroyed by Norton 360 SONAR control
Dear all,
I have MiKTeX 2.9 (under Windows Vista) installed. Today, on May 1, I
launched MiKTeX Update (Admin); the program copystart_admin.exe found a
lot of updateable packages but initially chose to update only the
package miktex-bin, and to remove the package unicode as obsolete. I let
the program to do so, and seemingly all was O.K. Then I went through
Maintenance(Admin) -> Settings(Admin), "Refresh FNDB" and "Update
formats", and after that launched Update (Admin) for the second time, in
order to update the rest packages. But my Norton 360 SONAR control
immediately ceased this process and removed copystart_admin.exe from my
hard disk, with the announcement that copystart_admin.exe has commited
suspicious activity! I tried to launch the main menu item
MiKTeX->Maintenance->Update (i.e. the program copystart.exe), and the
result was the same - Norton 360 SONAR removed copystart.exe from the
hard disk, with the same announcement written with boldface red letters.
I have both Norton 360 and MiKTeX 2.9 for long time already, the MiKTeX
update is a procedure I have done once each week, and until now there
were no problems. Moreover, this is the first occasion in my practice
when Norton 360 SONAR acts somehow. Maybe somebody can tell me something
about the situation.
Juris Freimanis
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recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy
all copies of the original message.

Dear all,
I have MiKTeX 2.9 (under Windows Vista) installed. Today, on May 1, I
launched MiKTeX Update (Admin); the program copystart_admin.exe found a
lot of updateable packages but initially chose to update only the
package miktex-bin, and to remove the package unicode as obsolete. I let
the program to do so, and seemingly all was O.K. Then I went through
Maintenance(Admin) -> Settings(Admin), "Refresh FNDB" and "Update
formats", and after that launched Update (Admin) for the second time, in
order to update the rest packages. But my Norton 360 SONAR control
immediately ceased this process and removed copystart_admin.exe from my
hard disk, with the announcement that copystart_admin.exe has commited
suspicious activity! I tried to launch the main menu item
MiKTeX->Maintenance->Update (i.e. the program copystart.exe), and the
result was the same - Norton 360 SONAR removed copystart.exe from the
hard disk, with the same announcement written with boldface red letters.
I have both Norton 360 and MiKTeX 2.9 for long time already, the MiKTeX
update is a procedure I have done once each week, and until now there
were no problems. Moreover, this is the first occasion in my practice
when Norton 360 SONAR acts somehow. Maybe somebody can tell me something
about the situation.
Juris Freimanis